Healing Craft: An exploration of metaphysical healing

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Charging Stones with Woodland Energy

Stones that are used for healing and magic need to be cleansed and charged regularly. I think it's best to cleanse and charge a stone after any healing work; stones I use as part of my own ritual circles or for meditation can go a little longer, provided my environment is reasonably harmonious and clear.

There are many ways to cleanse and charge your stones. Purification is often done with incense or smudge stick smoke, or with water and salt. The cleansed stones are then often charged with moonlight, sunlight, reiki, or a witch's intentions. I frequently use some combination of these methods myself.

But last week, on a relatively cool day, I decided to give my stones a slightly different sort of clearing and blessing.

I packed lepidolite, carnelian, labradorite and rutilated smoky quartz in soft, knitted pouches, put them in a backpack, and carried them to the woods. I'd been away from the forest for weeks, and it was good to be back.

I walked until I found the place that felt right for my working: a mossy tree growing almost horizontally from the hillside, with a scar from a lost branch forming a little asymmetrical bowl. I placed the four stones I wanted to charge in the hollow. I sprinkled them with clean water and waved a leaf over them. The sun fell on them, the tree held them, and those elemental energies purified and blessed them simultaneously.

I took some time to sit on a fallen log and feel the breeze move over me, letting myself and my stones soak up the green energy all around. Then I held my hands over the stones and said a simple blessing over them.

When I felt they were sufficiently charged with woodland energy, I packed them up and walked back to my car.

They're sitting on my working altar now, practically humming with magic--which I can access when I'm feeling the symptoms of nature deficiency.

Michelle Simkins grew up in rural Northern Michigan, where she divided her time between reading fantasy novels and wandering the woods. It was no surprise that as an adult she found herself drawn to earth-based spirituality and energetic healing, both of which she's been exploring since 1999. She now lives, works, writes, and studies her craft in the Pacific Northwest.